Dancing with the Devil
by MaverickLover2
Summary: When Beau moves to the B Bar M, he needs a housekeeper. Ellie Maverick finds him one with a small daughter and life proceeds.


Dancing with the Devil

Beau knew the moment he looked at her that he was bound to fall in love with her. That's what he did. Falling in love was easy for him. For other people it was like dancing with the devil. Not for Beau Maverick; love came effortlessly for him.

First, there was Georgia Mayfield, then Frankie Slade, then Leticia Meyers, and finally Danielle Louisa Montrose.

He met Georgia when he was very young. She was a few years older than him and she ran a saloon in Silver Creek, Montana. He hadn't intended to fall in love with her. He could have stayed married to Georgia forever, but she got sick and died.

Next came a whirl-wind case of romance, with Frankie Slade, one of the saloon girls at the rebuilt Four Mavericks Saloon in Silver Creek, sometime after Georgia passed. Frankie had been attracted to Bart Maverick, his cousin, but Bart had no interest in her. Sometimes he wondered if she didn't latch on to him because she was determined to catch a Maverick. After a brief period of romance, both parties decided they were better off with someone else.

Beau eventually made a connection with Letty, a.k.a. Leticia Meyers, also a former saloon girl at the Four Mavericks Saloon. Letty was determined to become the next Mrs. Beau Maverick, and for a while it looked like she might succeed. But she was too concerned with what people knew about her past life and she couldn't let it go.

A missed stagecoach connection was what caused Beau to meet Danielle Louisa Montrose, and they eventually married and were happy for many years in Baton Rouge. She bore him three children, twins Benny and Abby, and baby boy Joseph. Unfortunately, she became mentally unbalanced and he fled with the baby, back to the area where he grew up, Little Bend, Texas.

He lived on the ranch his cousins, Bret and Bart, owned and ran and was quite comfortably celibate. And then his step-mother, Elsbeth Maverick, set about to find him a live-in housekeeper, which she knew he was going to need. And when she found one that she thought he should talk to, he agreed. And that's when he first met Connie Walker and her daughter Casandra.

When Connie walked in he was almost speechless. She was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, yet she seemed to have no knowledge of that beauty. She was determined to find a job where she could keep her daughter with her during the day, and Beau was immediately drawn to the child. She'd never known her own father, who was killed before she was born, and she needed a male figure in her life.

Casandra was sweet and bright, what one would call a precocious child. She sat quietly in the kitchen with the lemonade Ellie provided and never stirred. Beau asked all the right questions and got all the right answers, then offered Connie the job. She took it immediately, even though at first Ellie was going to babysit Casandra while Connie worked since there was no room for her at Beau's. Then fate stepped in and played a hand; Abby took a job in Dallas and there was a vacant room at Beau's house. Connie was able to move her things, including Casandra, into the spare room, and she became Beau's live-in housekeeper, just like Lily Mae. Well, sort of like Lily Mae.

It wasn't long before Beau began taking Connie and Casandra everywhere with him. He spent so much time with them; he felt they were part of the family. Connie was an excellent cook and the most organized person he'd ever met. Soon she had the house in tip-top shape.

Beau usually went riding in the morning, and he began reading to Casandra after her nap in the afternoon. The house was easy to take care of, and soon Connie joined the reading session. Beau began widening his choice of reading material. He read his favorite poems, authors such as Tennyson, Browning, Longfellow, Eliot, Rimbaud, and even some of Edgar Allan Poe's softer verses. And when he ran out of reading material he borrowed books from his cousin Bart, who had an extensive library for an ex-gambler.

They took walks in the woods that surrounded the ranch and talked about many things . . . Beau's wives, Connie's husband, what they hoped for in life. It took no time at all for Beau to fall in love with the beautiful, dark-haired woman. Connie did not fall quite so easily, however, and it was many months of courting her before she began to return Beau's feelings. But when she finally fell, she fell hard. They kept it a secret for a while but when they finally felt comfortable with their feelings, they invited Ben and Ellie to dinner. Connie made a beautiful cake with hearts and flowers on it, and they sat Casandra down and explained everything to her. "Do I still call you Uncle?" she asked Beau seriously.

He picked her up and held her close. "No, ma'am, but you can call me . . . Daddy. What do you think about that?"

She looked at him with her big dark eyes, so like her mother's, and smiled. "Daddy. I like that. I never had a daddy before."

He gave her that Beau grin. "Well, you've got one now. Not only that, but you have two brothers and a sister too. Do you know what they are?"

"Joseph is your baby. Mama explained that to me."

"Well, that makes him your brother. How do you feel about that?"

"I love Joseph."

Beau smiled and gave Casandra a kiss on the forehead. "That's good. Benny is your brother, too, and Abby is your sister. They're my big babies."

"Were they little once?"

"Yes, just like Joseph. But they got big and grew up."

"Oh."

"Beau, Ben and Ellie are here.," Connie called from the front of the house.

"Ah, there's two more relatives for you. They're your grandma and grandpa now."

"They are?" Casandra asked as Beau set her down gently.

"Yes, ma'am, they are."

Beau took Casandra's small hand and they went to greet his father and step-mother. Ellie bent down and hugged the little girl. "Hi, sweetie."

Casandra looked at her skeptically. "Grandma?"

Ellie glanced over at Beau. "What's this all about?" she asked.

Connie walked over to Beau and snuggled under his arm. "Dad, Ellie, we invited the two of you over to tell you something. Something important. We're gettin' married. And I'm gonna adopt Casandra."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Ellie cried.

"You sure, boy?" Ben asked.

"We're sure, Dad," was the answer he got from Beau.

"Then I'm happy for you both. When this weddin' gonna happen?" Was Ben's next question.

"Well, we don't want anything big. We'd like you and Ellie to go into town with us next week and just get hitched. With Casandra there, of course. Then maybe we could come back to the ranch and have a nice dinner. With Bret and Bart and their wives. And Pappy and Maude. What do you think?"

"I think it sounds nice," Ellie offered.

"A small, quiet wedding. That's a good idea," Ben added.

"And this is gonna be the last one," Connie stated firmly.

"Do you have a dress to wear?"

"No, Ellie, I really don't."

Beau interrupted. "The three of us are goin' into town tomorrow and buy dresses for the ladies."

Connie looked startled. "Really, new dresses?"

"Yes, ma'am. Nothing but the best for my girls."

The soon-to-be Mrs. Maverick ushered everyone into the kitchen and laid out a beautiful dinner. When they were finished Beau and Connie put Casandra to bed. Then Beau and Ben retired to the porch to smoke cigars and Connie and Ellie did the dishes.

"You seem pretty happy son. You sure this is the right thing?"

"Yeah, Pa, I'm sure. This is the first time I've felt, well, comfortable in a long time. Connie is different than anybody I've ever known. And you see what Casandra's like. She's so in aw of havin' a daddy."

"You talked to Benny and Abby about it?"

"Benny's on board. He thinks it's a kick to have a little sister. I sent Abby a telegram because she won't be home for three weeks."

"What did Abby have to say?"

Beau passed the telegram to his father. _'Dear Dad – __Now__ you give me a little sister! Love hearing the news. Abby' _"That sounds like Abby."

"I was happy that Abby and Connie like each other. And Connie just laughed at the telegram."

"What does Casandra think of all this?" His father asked him.

"She's caught up in a whirlwind right now. She's never had a daddy, much less brothers and sisters and grandpas and grandmas. Wait until we get to the aunts and uncles and cousins. But when things settle down a bit, I think she'll get used to havin' all of them."

Meanwhile, Ellie and Connie were discussing the same things. "How's Casandra taking all this?" Ellie asked.

"Well, she's thrilled to have a daddy. I think she doesn't quite know what to make of everybody else, yet."

"Don't forget to send her down to our place when you want some privacy. We'd love to have her anytime."

"I'm sure she'll get plenty of grandma and grandpa time."

XXXXXXXX

"Daddy, what's your favorite color?" Casandra asked as the new family drove into town the next day.

"What's yours, Casse?" Beau was quick to turn the question back around.

"Blue," the little girl answered.

"That's funny," Beau replied. "Blue is my favorite color,too."

"Can I get a blue dress?"

"I don't see why not."

And so they ended up buying Cassie a beautiful blue dress. When it came time for Connie to find a wedding dress, the one she had her heart set on was blue, too.

A week later Connie and Cassie wore their new blue dresses into town, and Beau followed suit. With navy blue pants, silver-blue vest, and silver-blue jacket offset with a flowing navy tie, the three of them made a beautiful sight.

Ben and Ellie had gone into town earlier to decorate the little chapel where the marriage was to take place, and when the wedding party arrived they found white flowers wrapped with white ribbon everywhere. They also found Pappy and Maude, Bret and Ginny, Bart and Doralice, and Benny there to share in their wedding day. Beau and Connie were thrilled to have so many of their loved ones to witness their marriage vows and share in their happiness. Everyone returned to Bart's house for a wonderful dinner prepared by Lily Mae to celebrate. Then Doralice brought out a chocolate cake to finish things off.

That night, after putting Casandra to bed, the newlyweds sealed their love and lay in each other's arms, happily entwined with each other. "Are you as happy as I am?" Beau finally asked.

"No," Connie almost purred, "I'm happier."

"I feel like the luckiest man in the world," the new husband responded.

"You are," his bride assured him. "And I'm the luckiest woman."

As they drifted off to sleep, they each felt like they had found their soulmate. And as the coming years would prove, they had. No more dancing with the devil for either of them.

The End


End file.
